OnePlus has a new (famous) ambassador

Well…this is a bit awkward. OnePlus announced today that they have a new ambassador. For those that don’t know, a brand ambassador is a famous person that is the image of the brand for a period of time. That person will appear in ads, commercials and will, in general, endorse the brand. Ambassadors cost a lot of money due to their status and this one may be one of the most expensive for a mobile brand. Robert Downey Jr, the actor famous for his role as Iron Man in the Marvel movies signed a contract with OnePlus for an undisclosed sum.

When I say that it is awkward, it is because of OnePlus’ statement during the release of the OnePlus 7 Pro. They said that the new smartphone does not have an IP rating for water and dust resistance because they did not want to pay money to get the official rating, which would have resulted in a higher price for the smartphone. Apparently, they did want to pay a lot more to get Robert Downey Jr. on board. Don’t get me wrong, the company has the right to do what it pleases with the money, but now they can’t claim that they are 100% committed to giving users the maximum specs for their money because they don’t spend it on useless things.

Now, the actual sum of the contract is unknown. But considering that the actor’s fame grew a lot in the past years and that only 6 years ago HTC had him as an ambassador for 12 million dollars, we can assume that OnePlus paid a lot more. Still, from a pure marketing point of view, it makes perfect sense. Avengers: Endgame had huge success, both in China and outside, he is one of the best-known actors today and having him endorse the brand could potentially increase sales quite a lot. What are your thoughts on this?